Phocas Financial Corp. Has $2.15 Million Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Phocas Financial Corp. decreased its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,077 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $6,088,000. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 183.0% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Aquila Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,295,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 8,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC boosted its position in American Tower by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.91.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Tower Stock Up 0.3 %

American Tower stock opened at $179.20 on Monday. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10. The stock has a market cap of $83.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $193.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 203.77%.

American Tower Company Profile

American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 224,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of U.S. data center facilities.